Recently, the ROWAN community decided to start 2018 off right:

together.

The local ROWAN Staff Members work tirelessly throughout the year to help others, ensure needs are met, and to fill in any gaps when something needs to get done.

They are the hands and feet on the ground with those who grieve, grow, and overcome. Without engaging in healthy self care practices, this life of service can become burdensome. However, we take great care—with a proactive rather than reactive approach—to ensure that our staff is equipped and cared for physically, emotionally, and spiritually, so that they can continue to serve selflessly while maintaining their best and healthiest lives.

Over the course of three nights away from the village, our primary goal was to empower and encourage local staff.

We focused on building them up spiritually and as well as with practical skills to help them succeed—involving anything from how to write formal reports to learning more effective communication strategies. We had training that increased their passion for our pillars of focus: education, medical treatment, entrepreneurship, and emergencies—all with the spiritual element to remind them of the bigger reason and core purpose of what they do! Our staff especially enjoyed participating in team bonding activities as well as receiving individual encouragement as they prepare for the big year ahead. Board Member David Wafula commented on the retreat, sharing that his most pressing goal for this sacred time was to “minister HOPE!” How precious and powerful it is that this rest and restoration happens best in the context of community. Our prayer for all of our readers, sponsors, donors, and followers is that you, too, find time to rest and be refreshed within a community that reminds you of your infinite worth, dignity, and purpose.
Please keep our local staff in your prayers this year!

At 73 years old, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was only two years away from the constitutional age limit to serve as president. However, he just signed into law a new amendment, which abolishes the age limit, thereby allowing him to extend his presidency.

Since the beginning of his presidency, Uganda has seen many notable improvements. In addition to greater relative stability, his leadership has allowed for increased economic growth decreased HIV/AIDS, as much of his programming has prioritized education and prevention of the disease.

President Museveni came to power through a coup in 1986, and under his government, the democracy was born in 1996. Under the constitution of the new government, presidential term limits were set at two terms of five years each. However, at the start of his second term in office in 2001, strides were taken to do away with the two-term limit, which would allow Museveni to re-run for the presidential election in 2006. These efforts were successful, and Museveni won yet another election by a landslide, repeating his victories in 2011 and 2016.
During his current term, the threat to President Museveni’s power was no longer term limits, but rather the age limit set in the constitution, declaring that citizens under the age of 35 or over the age of 75 cannot hold the presidential office. This would disqualify the 73-year-old president from further re-election. So, on December 27, 2017, he passed a law, amending the constitution to abolish the age cap.
Although President Museveni’s efforts and programs have greatly improved Uganda, he has been Uganda’s only president. His refusal to relinquish his power for a second time highlights a major concern for many Ugandans, as Uganda has never seen a peaceful transfer of power since declaring its independence from Great Britain.
To learn more, follow this link to read an article published by Al Jazeera, a major global news organization, concerning this new development in Ugandan government. According to MP Robert Kyagulanyi (better known by fans of his musical career as “Bobi Wine”), the age amendment and implicit extension of Museveni’s power indicate bigger issues beneath the surface. Among these problems, Kyagulanyi mentions that over 85% of the Ugandan population is under 35 years old, but that most cabinet ministers are over 70; he sees this imbalance as a foundational for a government that is disconnected from the people it serves. Kyagulanyi also indicates that the message being sent by Museveni’s extended presidency is one of exclusivity that undermines the hope, freedom, and process of democracy rather than helping to prepare the next generation to serve their country well.
 
 
*Picture is property of bbc.co.uk

The turkey is gone, the shopping madness has subsided (slightly?), and today, we slow down and zoom out to refocus on giving even when it hurts, empowering others when we’re out of energy, and generating hope when all we want is to take a nap

slice of great news #1:

Giving Tuesday isn’t a one day sprint for us at ROWAN… we’re marathon-ing this Giving Tuesday for a 17-day stretch, ending on December 15th. Our hope and prayer is that we will receive 1,000 bricks by then. Why? So that we can START BUILDING by early 2018!

Most of our tribe know that Phase Two of building the Hall of Hope, our first ever community center, is well underway and that we’ve asked you to consider donating a brick toward getting this beautiful building up and running…

slice of great news #2:

…but you may not know that you can ALSO donate a brick in someone else’s name as a gift to them this Christmas!

But wait… It gets better.

slice of great news #3:

Giving Tuesday isn’t just a “Make America Feel Better About How Much Money We Just Spent on ourselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday” holiday anymore. In fact, this whole “Giving Tuesday” thing is about to play out in an INCREDIBLE way for our friends in Uganda, unlike anything you’ve seen before. Stay tuned to learn about the secret second twist—Giving Tuesday, UGANDA STYLE—at their CHRISTMAS PARTY!

Join us on our quest to get to 1,000 bricks!

To those of you who have already donated… Remember, this is about so much more than a building—and we couldn’t have FATHOMED doing this without you!

How the Kenyan Re-Election Affects Our Student, Eddy

ddy (pictured above on the right) is currently finishing law school in Nairobi. During Kenya’s recent presidential re-election, which was scheduled after the annulled results from the questionable one in August, Eddy shared with us that he was feeling very nervous about the political climate and fearful about the implications of this re-election.

Despite our own tumultuous stateside election last fall, our election-related fears seem insignificant and even petty when compared with political situations elsewhere, including Kenya. As they seek to implement democracy, free and fair elections come at a price—often including inevitable violence between opposing parties, polling stations enduring attacks of various sorts, barricaded roads, and the deaths of targeted victims as well as innocent civilian bystanders.
This re-election was no exception, and the validity of Eddy’s fears has been confirmed in many heartbreaking stories since then. Despite his fears, Eddy will continue to study hard, preparing for the selfless career he’s long pursued: as a lawyer, he plans to offer his expertise as a source of hope, becoming a legal voice for the voiceless.

What can you do?

Join us in praying for Kenya and other African governments that are desperately taking strides towards stability in their courts and safety in their neighborhoods.

Join us in praying for Eddy—that he would remain brave and determined to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

Join us in praying for our other sponsored students and those yet to join our program, who also have big dreams that may take them into scary places, just like Eddy’s. In fact, if you’re interested in helping other ambitious but underprivileged kids like Eddy pursue their dreams, please follow this link to read the stories of the kiddos who are waiting for your help!

And finally, join us in praying for our world—that we would all be a bit more relentless in hope, more resilient in adversity, and more committed to compassion for one another.

KEEP READING FOR EVEN MORE EXCITING NEWS!

Pastor Paul is traveling all the way from Uganda to the United States to meet all of you!

As ecstatic as we are to have him here at last, our great news doesn’t stop there—

Pastor Paul’s purpose in coming is to help raise funds for … (drum-roll please) …

the first actual ROWAN building: the Hall of Hope! Most organizations build big structures and hope people show up. Instead, we’ve served thousands of people under the trees for 10 years, and it’s finally time to build a building!

Our fundraising efforts and Pastor Paul’s visit are about so much more than just a building, though. The way we serve Ugandan orphans and widows is through our programs, and ALL of our programs will be housed there— savings groups and business courses, Saturday kids’ programs, tutoring and counseling, HIV training, sewing and jewelry-making classes, and every other meeting or event imaginable will all take place in this building:

This will allow us to be even more inclusive and hospitable to those in the surrounding community, and it will also make our programs and service more effective! THANK YOU for partnering with us as we take this next step!

Colorado friends—want to meet Pastor Paul, learn more about the Hall of Hope, AND get some free ice cream?! Come hang out with us! We’ll be at Little Man Ice Cream on September 9th from 7 – 9 pm. We’d love to have you join us! Just email kelsey@loverowan.org by August 31st with your number of guests!

Not in Colorado but still eager to spend some time with Pastor Paul and hang out with the ROWAN team? CLICK HERE to access our calendar and schedule of events that outline Pastor Paul’s time here!

This sounds like the beginning of an absurd joke; instead, it’s the genesis of a dream—and you’re invited to join!

Activate your imagination for a moment:
You are an orphan. You are infected with or affected by AIDS. You are living in rural Uganda. You know that education is the key to a better life and that it will enable you to pursue your dreams. One day, you learn that someone across the world has decided to love YOU by funding your meals, paying for your medical care, and enabling your education!
Despite this opportunity, one obstacle remains: you have to walk TEN MILES to get to and from school each day.
If you’re walking at a brisk 4 mph, that’s more than 2 hours of walking. More reasonably, a 3 mph pace requires more than 3 hours spent walking.
For our students, this trek is physically draining, which minimizes the effort and focus they have left over for their studies. Furthermore, the amount of time they spend walking makes them vulnerable to kidnapping, abuse, and disease.

This is where the bus comes in.

Common sense, right? Walking this far daily is unreasonable and dangerous. So we’re going to pick our students up and drop them off. This will not only transform an hours-long journey into one that occupies only a matter of minutes—it will also keep our orphans safer and allow them to invest more energy in their academic work.

This is where Mt. Kilimanjaro comes in.

The thing about a bus is that it costs money, and the thing about money is that we needed to find a way to raise it.
We thought the tallest mountain in Africa might catch your attention, so ROWAN launched Good Summits—a campaign that enables members of the outdoor community to combine their passion for adventure with a good cause.
Over the course of 15 days, we will be traveling to Uganda, witnessing and participating in what ROWAN is doing in the villages, and conquering the highest free-standing mountain in the world in order to raise awareness and money for our students’ transportation to school.

This is where you come in.

If you’re interested in harnessing your physical energy, available resources, and hopefulness for the sake and safety of ROWAN’s orphans, we want you to join our dream! There are several ways you can get involved: of course, you can join the expedition that will involve hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro; you can donate gear for other hikers; or you can set aside some money to help purchase the bus!
The proceeds of this effort will enable ROWAN to fund safe, reliable transportation for hundreds of children pursuing an education.
If you’re interested in visiting ROWAN villages and joining the ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro, learn more HERE or go ahead and fill out an application! If you aren’t able to participate but still want to be involved, please don’t hesitate to contact Lauren at lauren@loverowan.com.
Thank you for all of your help!

This is a season that can get so busy amid the packed schedules, growing to-do lists and preparations for the holidays. But it is good to stop, change our perspective, and remember how we have been blessed. So much has happened in the past several months on the ground in Mawanga and surrounding communities. Our people have seen joys and triumphs, but also experienced sorrow and faced hardships.

If you recall with me, just a handful of months ago our people were struggling with a famine like we had never seen before. Families were starving, supplies were exhausted and we prayed for a miracle — that God would intervene. Funds were raised and grain was purchased to assist the many hungry mouths that needed to be fed. But we also took a step to be proactive. We wanted to plan ahead and attempt to prevent tragedies like this in the future.

So we sent one of our own, Robert, to Farming God’s Way in Kampala. The idea was to put him through training and in turn, he would come back and share all he had learned with various villages.

He set out to learn all he could about strategic farming and maintaining a sustainable way of living through farming. He started later than many of the other participants, and had to catch up on a portion of the classes.
 

But praise God, he completed the training! Robert recently graduated from Farming God’s Way and has returned to Mawanga to share his knowledge. Here he is with Pastor Paul, beaming from ear to ear…and we couldn’t be prouder. Thank YOU for supporting this venture; for trusting God to complete this work and investing in lives and communities around Eastern Uganda. We are excited to see the fruit of this labor in the coming months and years.

The 25th of every month is #orange day — promoting awareness and prevention of violence against women and girls.

Action Plan for Orange Day, 25 August 2016: Safe and secure working environments for women and girls
 

“Break the silence. When you witness violence against women and girls, do not sit back. Act.”

~ Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General
 

The United Nations Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women has proclaimed the 25th day of each month as “Orange Day,” a day to raise awareness and take action to end violence against women and girls. As a bright optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from violence against women and girls, for the UNiTE campaign. Orange Day calls upon activists, governments and UN partners to mobilize people and highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year on 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women), but every month.

Violence against women and girls is a grave violation of human rights. Its impact ranges from immediate to long-term multiple physical, sexual and mental consequences for women and girls, including death. It negatively affects women’s general well-being and prevents women from fully participating in society. Violence not only has negative consequences for women but also their families, the community and the country at large. It has tremendous costs, from greater health care and legal expenses and losses in productivity, impacting national budgets and overall development.
 
Decades of mobilizing by civil society and women’s movements have put ending gender-based violence high on national and international agendas. An unprecedented number of countries have laws against domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of violence. Challenges remain however in implementing these laws, limiting women and girls’ access to safety and justice. Not enough is done to prevent violence, and when it does occur, it often goes unpunished.
– See more.

 Orange your work place! As long as your employer agrees, wear orange to work or
university and encourage your colleagues to do the same to show your support for zero
tolerance of violence against women and girls in the work place.
 Find out what policies are in place at your work place or university. Do they fulfill the
recommendations in the Women’s Empowerment Principles? If there are gaps, what
steps can be taken?
 If you are in the business community, find out if your company supports the Women’s
Empowerment Principles!
 Learn from the Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women’s guidelines on
drafting legislation on workplace sexual harassment, and share with policy makers
(http://www.unwomen.org/)

Read more about how YOU can help ROWAN with our education and training to break this cycle of violence against women and girls.